Kicking with your off leg (lead leg kicks)

[Permalost]

Happycrow, is the switch kick not used in savate because the shoes make power shots less neccesary, because you can get good damage with a sturdy toe kick? This is how Marc Denny made it sound in the Kali Tudo set, but I've never been kicked by a savate shoe.

Personally I don't like the lead roundhouse kick. I prefer front and side kicks because I deliver front leg kicks defensively mostly, and a weak roundhouse kick won't stop anybody from moving in on you. I do like the variation where you take a small step back with the lead leg to avoid a leg kick, and unload with your own lead thigh kick (or, in my experience, a lead leg kick to the head because some people I train with leave their head open when kicking the legs).

[Happycrow]

The shoe's a side point: I wear the softest and most harmless wrestling shoes I can find. Savate shoes are nothing special.. they're usually MUCH softer than your average boxing or wrestling shoe. But they do give you enough support that you can dig in the toe.

We kick hard... but hard is power, and for us, "power comes from form." Stylistically, we place a lot more emphasis on precision. i.e., we don't do a kick to the thigh: we kick specific spots on the thigh. We don't put a megaton warhead on "the ribs"... but try to put 90 kilotons in a specific area of a specific floating rib. And because of the way savate generates power, that precision isn't considered particularly remarkable: think about the kind of precision a classical dancer has, and that's what we aim for. Ask around, or check out one of Salem Assli's tapes... if you look real closely, you'll see that his kicks almost always land in precisely the same target.

[PPlate]

when i roundhouse with my lead leg i do a much more angled kick wich is fast but has less power kinda like the second option you had. I mean you dont throw overhand right bombs all the time so why throw every thing in all your kicks?

What's the purpose of throwing anything without power behind it, unless you're using it as a setup to create an opening?

You're wasting energy, putting yourself at risk and not getting anything in return. I guess I agree with the Bas Rutten philosophy that every punch and kick we throw should have full power behind it to do as much damage as possible.

[PPlate]

I use a switch round kick offensively when my opponent keeps backing away. I try to disguise the telegraphed footwork with a same-hand punch (left kick + left punch or right kick + right punch). Ideally, they'll focus on the punch, move back just far enough to avoid it, and walk right into the kick. See Liddell / Babalu I.

Sounds like an effective setup/technique, gotta try it in my next sparring session.

[WhiteShark]

I definitely step up when I throw off my lead leg. You can see it here (watch my back foot):